Purpose

This report shares data from a poll Zeeto conducted that surveys the opinion of people with children regarding the social distancing restrictions that have led to an economic shutdown.

Methodology

On April 22, we surveyed 2,210 people with children with a confidence level of 95% and a margin of error of +/- 2.5-3.5 percentage points depending on the subset of data. Each chart displays its details regarding statistical significance.

First we asked the following question: “How has the coronavirus impacted your job?”

Answers:

I’ve lost my job
I’ve been furloughed
I’ve taken a pay cut and/or my hours have been reduced
I’m concerned about losing my job
It has not impacted me

To control for position bias, we rotated all of the answers every time the poll was run.

Then we asked the following question: “How soon should restrictions on social distancing be ended?”

Answers:

Immediately
By the end of the month
By the start of the summer
Not until the medical community says it’s safe
I don’t have an opinion

To control for position bias, we rotated the top four answers every time the poll was run.

Next we asked the following question: “Who should have the most say on when to end social distancing?”

Answers:

The federal government
State governments
Medical experts
The public
I don’t have an opinion

To control for position bias, we rotated the top four answers every time the poll was run.

Finally we asked the following question: “Do you support the anti-lockdown protesters?”

Answers:

I strongly support them
I somewhat support them
I understand their concerns, but don’t support their approach
I don’t support them at all
I don’t have an opinion

To control for position bias, we rotated the top three answers every time the poll was run.

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Results

“How has the coronavirus impacted your job?”

More than 5 in 10 polled Americans said their job has been impacted by the coronavirus. 25% said they have lost their job, 16% said they have taken a pay cut and/or had their hours reduced, and 11% said they have been furloughed. Another 11% said they are concerned about losing their job. Only 37% said they have not been impacted by the coronavirus (see Graph A). While an equal share of males and females reported having lost their job, a larger share of males said they have been furloughed: 12% of males compared to 10% of females. A larger share of males also said they are concerned about losing their job: 13% of males compared to 10% of females. On the other hand, a larger share of females said their job has not been impacted by the coronavirus: 38% of females compared to 34% of males (see Graph B).

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“How soon should restrictions on social distancing be ended?”

About 5 in 10 polled Americans said restrictions on social distancing should not end until the medical community deems it safe. 16% is evenly split between people who said they should be halted immediately and people who said they should be halted by the end of the month, i.e. 9 days after this poll was taken. 9% reported they should not end until the summer, i.e. in about 2 months, and a quarter did not express an opinion (see Graph C). Looking at the data by gender, a larger share of females (51%) said restrictions on social distancing should not end until the medical community deems it safe, which compares to 46% of males. 18% of males think they should end relatively quickly, i.e. immediately or by the end of the month, compared to 16% of females. Whereas an equal share of males and females (9%) said they should not end until the summer, a larger share of males did not express an opinion: 27% of males compared to 24% of females (see Graph D).

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“Who should have the most say on when to end social distancing?”

Upon politicizing the question, polled Americans relied less on the medical community to determine when to end social distancing restrictions. About 4 in 10 polled Americans said medical experts should have the most say on when to end social distancing, which is 10% less than the share of people who said social distancing should not end until the medical community deems it safe in the previous question. 12% of polled Americans said state governments should be the main arbiters on when to end social distancing, 11% said it should be the public, and 10% said it should be the federal government. Another 27% did not express an opinion (see Graph E). Looking at the data by gender, while the decline in the share of people inclined to rely on the medical community to determine when to end social distancing restrictions comes from both females and males, it is larger among males: 38% of males said medical experts should have the most say on when to end social distancing, which is an 11% drop from the preceding question, compared to 41% of females and a 9% drop (see Graph F).

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“Do you support the anti-lockdown protesters?”

About 4 in 10 polled Americans said they do not support the anti-lockdown protesters, but 2 in 10 of those non-supporters said they understand their concerns. 12% said they strongly support them and 10% said they somewhat support them. Another 37% did not express an opinion (see Graph G). Looking at data by gender, a slightly larger share of males (42%) said they do not support the anti-lockdown protesters, though 21% of those non-supporters expressed understanding their concerns, compared to 19% of females who said “I don’t not support them at all” and 21% who said “I understand their concerns, but don’t support their approach.” While an equal share of males and females (12%) expressed strong support for anti-lockdown protesters, a slightly larger share of males (11%) than females (9%) said they are somewhat supportive (see Graph H).